Ronnie OWE Sullivan

HEARN AWAITING ‘THANKS’

- HECTOR NUNNS

BARRY HEARN reckons that Ronnie O’Sullivan will thank him one day – just as boxer Chris Eubank did in a recent phone call. 

The Rocket has been snooker’s biggest box office star for three decades and remains world No.1.

But O’Sullivan’s relationship with the game has often been strained.

Though former World Snooker supremo Hearn has always acknowledged O’Sullivan’s brilliance, there have been many public spats.

Despite O’Sullivan’s criticism of those running the sport, and even his fellow pros, he has amassed £13m in prize money, and maybe double that in total from the game.

Matchroom promoter Hearn hopes one day O’Sullivan will appreciate that.

Eubank was an eccentric, self-confident fighter who rose under Hearn to win world titles at middleweight and super-middleweight.